Why MSPs Need to Pay Attention to Phishing in 2026

2026 Phishing Statistics: What MSPs Need to Know

Phishing remains one of the most effective ways for cybercriminals to gain access to business systems, steal credentials, and launch wider attacks. While the tactics continue to evolve, phishing remains central to many successful cyber incidents, from business email compromise (BEC) and ransomware to account takeovers and data breaches. What makes today's phishing threat particularly challenging is the speed at which attackers are adapting. Artificial intelligence is helping cybercriminals create more convincing messages, credential theft is becoming a primary attack objective, and phishing campaigns are increasingly spreading across multiple communication channels.

For MSPs, the impact extends beyond security alone. A successful phishing attack can disrupt customer operations, damage trust, increase support costs, and put long-standing client relationships at risk. Understanding how the threat landscape is changing helps MSPs strengthen customer protection, improve resilience, and demonstrate strategic value.

1. APWG Recorded More Than 1 Million Phishing Attacks in Q1 2025

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) recorded 1,003,924 phishing attacks during the first quarter of 2025 alone. Despite years of investment in cybersecurity tools and awareness programs, phishing remains one of the most common attack methods. The sheer volume of activity demonstrates that phishing remains profitable for attackers and effective against organizations of all sizes.

For businesses, this means phishing attempts are no longer occasional events. Most organizations are exposed to suspicious emails, malicious links, and credential-harvesting campaigns on a daily basis. Even organizations with mature security controls remain vulnerable because attackers increasingly focus on exploiting trust rather than technical weaknesses.

What this means for MSPs: Phishing should be treated as an ongoing business risk rather than a periodic security concern. Layered protection that combines email security, identity protection, user awareness, and threat detection remains essential.

2. Financial Services Accounted for 30.9% of All Phishing Targets

According to APWG, banking and financial services organizations accounted for 30.9% of phishing targets in Q1 2025. Financial institutions continue to attract attackers because successful compromises can quickly lead to direct financial gain. However, the same tactics are increasingly being used against legal firms, accountants, professional services organizations, and SMBs that process payments or manage sensitive information.

Attackers often target businesses where trust, transactions, and access to financial systems intersect. This creates opportunities for credential theft, fraudulent payments, and business email compromise attacks.

What this means for MSPs: Customers operating in high-trust industries may require enhanced monitoring, stronger identity controls, and additional security awareness training to reduce risk.

 3. Wire Tranfer BEC Attacks Increased by 136%

One of the most significant findings from recent APWG research was the dramatic rise in wire-transfer-focused business email compromise attacks. BEC attacks rely on social engineering rather than malware. Attackers impersonate executives, suppliers, or trusted business contacts to persuade employees to transfer funds or disclose sensitive information.

The 136% increase demonstrates that cybercriminals continue to view BEC as one of the most profitable forms of cybercrime. Because these attacks often appear legitimate, they can bypass traditional security controls and rely heavily on human judgment.

What this means for MSPs: Email security is important, but operational controls matter just as much. Customers should implement approval workflows and independent verification procedures for all significant financial transactions.

4. The Average Fraudulent Wire Transfer Request Exceeded $50,000

APWG research found that the average fraudulent wire transfer request exceeded $50,000. For many SMBs, a loss of this size can create significant financial pressure and operational disruption. Beyond the immediate financial impact, organizations may face reputational damage, customer concerns, and increased scrutiny from stakeholders. The statistic also highlights why attackers continue to prioritize BEC campaigns. A single successful transaction can generate substantial returns without requiring malware deployment or complex technical exploitation.

What this means for MSPs: Helping customers prevent even one fraudulent transfer can deliver measurable business value while strengthening trust in the MSP relationship.

5. Credential Theft Activity Increased by 160% During 2025

Threat intelligence research identified a 160% increase in credential theft activity during 2025. This reflects a broader shift in attacker behavior. Rather than focusing solely on malware infections, many threat actors now prioritize obtaining legitimate credentials that provide direct access to cloud services, email platforms, and business applications. Compromised credentials can be used to launch ransomware attacks, access sensitive information, move laterally through environments, and maintain persistence without immediately triggering alerts.

What this means for MSPs: Identity protection has become one of the most important components of modern cybersecurity strategies. Protecting accounts is often the fastest way to reduce overall risk.

6. More Than 60% of Modern Attacks Now Involve Credentials

Industry research consistently shows that stolen or compromised credentials are involved in the majority of successful cyberattacks. As organizations continue moving to cloud-based applications and Microsoft 365 environments, identity has become a primary target for attackers. Access to a single account can provide a pathway to email, file storage, collaboration tools, and business-critical systems.

This shift has accelerated the adoption of phishing-resistant MFA, passkeys, conditional access policies, and identity threat detection technologies.

What this means for MSPs: Securing identities should be treated as a foundational security control, not an additional layer of protection.

7. AI-Generated Phishing Emails Are Becoming Significantly Harder to Detect

Security researchers throughout 2025 reported a sharp increase in the use of AI-generated phishing content. Unlike traditional phishing emails, AI-generated messages often contain accurate grammar, natural language, and highly personalized content. Attackers can create convincing messages at scale while tailoring communications to specific individuals, organizations, and industries. This removes many of the warning signs users have historically been trained to identify.

What this means for MSPs: Security awareness programs must evolve beyond spotting spelling mistakes and suspicious formatting. Users need practical guidance on verifying requests and recognizing behavioral warning signs.

"The median time for users to click on a phishing simulation link was just 21 seconds, and 28 seconds to submit sensitive data". – Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report

8. Deepfake and Voice-Cloning Attacks Continued to Increase Throughout 2025

Researchers observed growing adoption of AI-generated voice and impersonation technologies throughout 2025. These tools allow attackers to imitate executives, suppliers, customers, and colleagues with increasing accuracy. When combined with phishing campaigns, voice cloning can add credibility to fraudulent requests and increase the likelihood of success. While still less common than email phishing, the technology is becoming more accessible and more convincing.

What this means for MSPs: Verification procedures should apply to every sensitive request, regardless of who appears to be making it.

9. QR-Code Phishing Attacks Continue to Grow Rapidly

QR-code phishing, often referred to as "quishing", remains one of the fastest-growing phishing techniques. Attackers use malicious QR codes to redirect users to credential-harvesting websites or fraudulent login pages. Because users often scan QR codes using personal mobile devices, these attacks can bypass traditional email and web security controls. The growing use of QR codes in everyday business operations has created new opportunities for attackers to exploit user trust.

What this means for MSPs: Mobile-focused security awareness and identity protection are becoming increasingly important components of phishing defense.

10. MSPs Remain High-Value Targets for Cybercriminals

MSPs remain attractive targets due to their privileged access to multiple customer environments. A successful attack against an MSP can give attackers the opportunity to access customer systems, distribute malware, steal credentials, or disrupt operations across multiple organizations simultaneously. This places MSPs in a unique position. They must not only protect their own environments but also help customers defend against increasingly sophisticated phishing threats.

What this means for MSPs: Strong internal security practices, layered protection, and continuous monitoring are critical for maintaining customer trust and reducing supply chain risk.

Helping Customers Stay Ahead of Modern Phishing Threats

The phishing landscape continues to evolve, but one trend remains consistent: attackers are increasingly targeting identities, trust, and human behavior rather than technical vulnerabilities alone. For MSPs, understanding these trends is about more than preventing attacks. It is about helping customers improve resilience, reduce operational risk, and maintain business continuity in an increasingly complex threat environment.

By combining advanced email security, identity protection, security awareness training, and proactive threat detection, MSPs can help customers stay protected while creating stronger relationships, improving retention, and differentiating their services in a competitive market. The organizations that succeed in 2026 will be those that treat phishing as a business challenge as well as a security challenge and build their defenses accordingly.

See how CyberSentriq's integrated cybersecurity platform enables MSPs to strengthen resilience, reduce risk, and deliver greater value.

Book a CyberSentriq demo today.